Govt employee posts '007' job ad on DirectGov website

Sadly the closest I'll ever get to being James Bond is playing with a Sony Xperia T while watching Skyfall. So I don't think I was the only one getting my hopes up when an advert appeared on a government website, suited for those "who like their martinis shaken and not stirred", with the job reference code 007.

Unfortunately it turned out to be a prank, posted by a government employee, the Telegraph reports. It's being investigated as we speak, and probably not by anyone wearing a dinner jacket.

The job sounded like every big kid's dream. It was advertised as Target Elimination Specialist, looking for "particularly skilled professionals who are prepared to work on a non-attributable basis" to deal with "people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order".

Anyone thinking of applying had to be handy with firearms, with prior military experience a must, "particularly in the use of sniper rifles". (Not semi-automatic pistols?) A range of gadgets were also part and parcel, including watches, jet packs and mini-submarines.

The ad stayed on the DirectGov website for at least an hour after being posted.

A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions told the Telegraph it was down to a government employee, rather than hackers. They confirmed an investigation has begun.

"It is disappointing that somebody would want to post a false advert when people are looking for real jobs," they said. "It has now been removed."

How though? Tied to a concrete slab, a laser beam creeping up between the words? Hit with a poison dart fired from a wristwatch? Fed a pellet of compressed air that caused it to float up, hit the ceiling, and then burst?

The latest Bond flick, Skyfall, is still in cinemas. There aren't too many gadgets to speak of -- "We don't really go in for that any more," says Q -- but it's great fun, with plenty of nods to the classic Bonds of the last 50 years.